Give a little; get A LOT!

This holiday season, please consider a gift to My Place Teen Center – a non-profit organization in YOUR community that is on the front lines of the battles against drug addiction, homelessness, food insecurity, and systemic poverty. Please read on for more information, and click the link below to donate.

“I don’t have any dreams. I know it’s important to have dreams, though. I need to think about that.” Jack, Age 12

On paper, Jack is clearly defined as at-risk. He lives below the poverty line and has grown up with a parent dealing with substance use. He has gone to bed hungry and has a learning disability. Jack is a kid that could easily slip through the cracks.

At My Place Teen Center, we don’t accept the odds that are stacked up against kids like Jack. Jack is sweet. He is shy. He is GOOD. He is hopeful. He is more than one-dimensional, and more than a statistic. But he is a boy becoming a man, and he needs our help today, to look past his obstacles and to learn how to dream big.

The good news? Right now, as I compose this letter to you, all the kids are having an ice cream party. Earlier, they participated in a Hardcore Hooping class. Yesterday, we had tennis practice and they were working in our Learning Technology Lab. Elijah and Chris are playing ping-pong, Timothy and Joseph are playing UNO, Bradley’s vacuuming, 12 kids, including Jack, are out picking up trash along the Riverwalk, and Sienna, Brit, and Annabelle are hanging out with the staff. Really good things happen here. The place and vibe are amazing!

Can you help? Will you help? Please – we do need your help. It does indeed take a village to support our kids; to help them believe in themselves, to foster aptitude, resilience, and courage. To say: “I care!” “YOU matter!” “I believe in you!” You’re special!”